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General Fund-raising Ideas

Income tax refund

Collecting coins

Birthdays/milestones

Bake sales with a twist

Special challenges/dares

Disaster response fundraisers

New meaning for tax relief
Donate part or all of your income tax return to the World Hunger Appeal.  If you received a refund, maybe you didn't miss that money in the first place.  When you get money back from the government each spring in the form of a tax refund, consider how much food that could put on the table for hungry people all over the world. 

$1 feeds an AIDS orphan or street child in Africa for a day.  Each tax rebate could care for a child for a year – or two.  Encourage members of your congregation to give their whole rebate – or a major part of it – to help hungry people through the World Hunger Appeal.

"Let justice roll…" - and let quarters and dimes roll as well!
One year, ELCA synod assemblies were especially "on a roll."  From Upstate New York to Northeast Minnesota to Northwest Wisconsin, synods collected quarters for the World Hunger Appeal with amazing results.  Each of these synods raised $20,000 and $30,000 - miles upon miles of quarters laid end to end.  Some used a "quarter roll" to collect the coins; others used black plastic film canisters.  But persistence, reminders, and a spirit of fun made a difference.

Try to see how many quarters you can collect in your congregation, and, like Trinity Lutheran in Midland, Mich., see how far they stretch. Or, do as the Metropolitan Chicago Synod did by setting an extraordinary goal to collect one million dimes by its June 2002 assembly using junior high youth in each congregation as organizers.

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Do you have a will to end hunger?
Encourage members to not put off making a will, and when they do, to include the ELCA World Hunger Appeal in it. Individuals can "adopt" a child in need by leaving a percentage of their estate to the World Hunger Appeal, even as they, through their will, provide for each of their own heirs. Simple brochures to help are available from the ELCA Foundation or by calling the World Hunger Appeal office at 800.638.3522, ext. 2764.

See "Planned giving" for more information.

Happy birthday - for others
It's no surprise when children ask their parents for birthday presents. But how about when children ask for presents to help others who are hungry? That's what's happening in the Sunday school of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Kensington, Conn. Month-in and month-out, teachers encourage children (and adults!) to think beyond themselves on their birthday:

• to remember all that God has done in their lives;
• to give a birthday gift to the ELCA World Hunger Appeal;
• and to ask others to remember their birthday in this way

This effort is both publicized and celebrated in the congregation through colorful posters and cards and regular reminders in bulletin inserts and during the worship service.

This idea has also sprouted in other places. For example, 9-year-old Austin (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) learned what his church does to fight poverty. With his birthday around the corner, his parents asked him for a list of gifts he wanted. They found several $10-20 toys listed – plus one $150 item at the bottom: Austin's request that a gift be given to the World Hunger Appeal. And that was, in fact, one of the gifts Austin got for his birthday!

Check out more individuals who shared their birthday gifts

Honoring other milestones of life
Is your pastor, a congregational leader or someone important in your congregation celebrating an important occasion, such as retirement? Recognize their service in a meaningful way by making a donation to the World Hunger Appeal in their honor. Present them with a certificate or large-sized check in front of the congregation. Or, if you send a note with your donation, we’ll send an acknowledgment to that person.

See more examples of individuals who have shared through honorary donations.

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Bake sales with a twist

• Remember the hungry at bake sales, held as fund raisers for other projects in your congregation, and give a portion of the proceeds to the World Hunger Appeal.
   
• Ask Thrivent Financial for Lutherans for matching funds when your congregation holds a bake sale.
   
• Hold an annual or semi-annual "cookie walk" like St. Daniels in Robesonia, PA.  The congregation asks all willing members, including youth, to bake one or two trays of their favorite cookies.  They then place all of them in a big circle or on tables for members to walk around and choose as many cookies as they want, provided they make a donation for each to the World Hunger Appeal. You can charge 5 or 25 cents per cookie, or $1/dozen.

Gardeners: Plant a row for neighbors
As you plant your vegetable garden in the spring, plant an extra row (or more), and donate its yield to a local food pantry to help our neighbors in need. Many pantries – and their clients – would welcome the contribution of home-grown fresh fruits and vegetables. Inviting your children, grandchildren or other neighborhood children to help plant seeds for hungry neighbors is a good way to teach them our Christian responsibility toward others while having a fun in an intergenerational activity.

Fresh food from our gardens is good for everyone's health. The price of some seeds is small, while the results can make a real difference in other people's lives. The same Old Testament book that Jesus quotes to tell us the great commandment about loving one's neighbor also teaches farmers to have food available on the edges of their fields for the poor (Matthew 22:34-40; Leviticus 19:18, 9-10).

Check out other ways to connect food consumption to hunger.

I dare you!
Challenges and dares are fun–and effective–ways to raise funds for the World Hunger Appeal. Have the pastor agree to do something outlandish if a group in your congregation, such as the youth, raises a certain amount in a creative way. Pastor Joel A. Bacon from St. John, Alma, WI, agreed to get his ear pierced if youth raised an additional $1,000 on top of the $250 they raised for the World Hunger Appeal during their fund raising to attend the 2000 ELCA Youth Gathering.  They did, and their pastor sported his new "holy" ear!

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